Women in North Korea - Before The Division of Korea

Before The Division of Korea

In the Joseon Dynasty, women were expected to give birth to and rear male heirs to assure the continuation of the family line. Women had few opportunities to participate in the social, economic, or political life of society. There were a few exceptions to limitations imposed on women's roles. For example, female shamans were called on to cure illnesses by driving away evil spirits, to pray for rain during droughts, or to perform divination and fortune-telling.

Before the Yi Dynasty and Neo-Confucianism was introduced, women comparatively had more rights and freedom. Women during the Shilla period held higher positions and statuses (although not equal to those of men) in society and had many legal rights including the right to be considered the head of a household. Furthermore, during the Koryo period, remarriage of women as well as equal property inheritance between men and women was completely acceptable.

However as Korea entered the Yi Dynasty, Confucian ideology, was strongly adhered to by society and immensely affected the roles of men and women. From the young age of seven, males and females were separated and restricted to designated areas of the house: the outer part (sarangcha) for the males and the inner part (ancha) for the women. By Korean Confucian standards, "a virtuous woman obeyed men throughout her life: in youth, she obeyed her father; when married, she obeyed her husband; if her husband died, she was subject to her son."

Few women received any formal education in traditional Korean society. After the opening of Korea to foreign contact in the late nineteenth century, however, Christian missionaries established girls' schools, thus allowing young Korean females of any class to obtain a modern education. With the influence of Silhak, Tonghak, and Western thought, a priority interest focused on human rights and equality. Thereby in 1886, Ewha Haktang (Ewha School) was established as the first modern women's school. And in response to the Chanyang-hoe (Chanyang Association) and their emphasis on education for women, in 1908, the government established the first public girls' school called Hansong Girls' High School.